


Home again

by coconutbreeze



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Dating, F/M, Falling In Love, Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:28:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26231176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coconutbreeze/pseuds/coconutbreeze
Summary: The war is over and Cloud and Aerith spend time together back in Sector 5.Written for Clerith Week 2020 Day 1 - Courting
Relationships: Aerith Gainsborough & Cloud Strife, Aerith Gainsborough/Cloud Strife
Comments: 12
Kudos: 74





	Home again

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! First time writing for Clerith week but I wanted to participate and contribute! The story was inspired by @RacyAerith  
> who drew Cloud and Aerith with the Leaf House kids, and I thought it would be a perfect picture for this prompt.
> 
> Please let me know what you think, and hope you enjoy! :)

_So Cloud, what are you going to do now_?

The question lingered in Cloud’s mind. Truth was, he didn’t know what to do with himself. Now that they saved the planet from the clutches of a hellbent Sephiroth, a whole world of possibilities presented themselves to not just himself, but to everyone.

A chance to rebuild all that was lost and a time for peace.

For the first time in years, Cloud was free to do as he pleased. The world as he knew only revolved around the structured military environment of SOLDIER.

Everyone wished to return to lives that they had lived.

Cid flew immediately back to Rocket Town to be with his wife and their soon to be expected child. Whereas Red went back to Cosmo Canyon to help lead and look after the town.

Vincent and Yuffie were welcomed by Reeve to help Barret and Tifa manage the reconstruction of Sector 7. The former Turk thought it would be a good idea to slowly integrate back into society after he had been away for so long, and the Wutai ninja wanted to try and collect even more materia from around the world. Barret and Tifa planned to restore their 7th Heaven bar to its former glory and help provide the residents a sense of stability.

Reeve of course also invited Cloud and Aerith to work with them as well.

Aerith politely declined, wanting to spend more time back home with her mother Elmyra. She wanted to take a break and relax for a bit, after all she had never been away from home for so long.

As for Cloud, he never felt like he belonged in Sector 7. Sure, the residents would hire him to slay bounties and help get rid of all the scrapyard monsters, but it was nothing more than a job. It didn’t _feel_ like home. Although money used to be all that he cared about, Cloud had more than enough from their past adventures, and it just wasn’t a priority to him anymore.

_What was his priority?_

He glanced over at the flower girl and his eyes softened. There she stood, saying her goodbyes to everyone and his heart sunk at the thought of her leaving so soon. Her presence soothed him every step of their journey and gave him the strength to keep going through all the hardships that they endured.

Suddenly he felt hollow, like a part of him was missing, knowing that he would miss her terribly.

Aerith could see the look on Cloud’s face from across the way and walked over to him.

“Heya!” She chirped, cheerful as ever.

That melodious voice brought out the best of him again and again, and he couldn’t help but smile. “Heya to you too.”

She knew this would be her most difficult goodbye. What could she say to Cloud with their last few fleeting moments together that could capture how she felt? She longed for some way that would allow them to spend more time together.

“Do you know what you’re going to do next?” She asked inquisitively, reading his mako blue eyes for some semblance of a clue into his thoughts.

Those eyes narrowed in thought.

She started to ramble in an attempt to steer the conversation in her favor. “What if you come help out at the Leaf House? The kids and Miss Folia love having you around.”

Cloud took a moment to think as he let out a gentle huff.

Her suggestion did resonate with the mercenary. He had enjoyed helping the Leaf House orphanage with Aerith back when he first visited Sector 5, they had welcomed him with open arms. At the memory of Sector 5, his mind raced back to when the Turks kept trying to take her from her home and he started to worry.

“You...gonna be okay back home?” Concern laced his eyes before continuing, “What if Shinra tries to take you away again?”

Aerith tilted her head to the side knowing how this played out, “And if I said I wasn’t?”

“I’ll go with you.” Cloud responded firmly, without even a second thought. “I can help out at the Leaf House.”

She was elated and let out a small jump of joy at his response, ‘Really?! You mean it?”

Cloud nodded, assuring her with a grin. “Yeah, who knows, could be fun.”

* * *

Cloud had found a small apartment in Sector 5 to stay at while he helped the Leaf House. He originally thought they would need a hand with a few construction projects, or maybe running deliveries around the sector, but that wasn’t what they had in mind.

He was coaxed by a certain florist to teach the Leaf House children swordsmanship. She argued that since the kids were always on patrol around Sector 5, it would be great if they learned the basics from a real professional. The kids needed to be able to protect themselves from the various monsters that wandered around the outskirts on their patrols.

When he inquired why someone else couldn’t be the one to teach them, she responded in earnest, “They practically begged me to ask you to be their teacher.”

He let out an exasperated sign. The way he saw it, he was on the fence on if he wanted to spend all that time with the kids. This would require an extreme amount of patience, something he wasn’t sure if he was capable of.

As if Aerith read his mind, she grabbed onto his hand.

“You’d be great with them, you know that right?” Smiling sweetly at him and flashing those brilliant green eyes with her best puppy dog impression. “Please Cloud, for me?”

He shuddered internally and immediately knew that she won him over. The way he melted under her whims was dangerous, her tactics proved unfair. He begrudgingly agreed to help teach them.

Honestly, the kids were a good bunch, and he knew teaching them would make Aerith happy. What’s the worst that could happen?

* * *

The first session started out rough. Upon issuing the kids their wooden practice swords, they immediately turned on each other to sword fight.

 _How did he end up here_?

He ran his hand through his hair with an exasperated sigh, he was going to need way more patience.

But it got better. Each day the kids would come to class with questions. They affectionately called them “Cloud’s question of the day”. Most days these questions would be related their training. Whenever they took a break, one of the children would raise their hand politely and ask a question about certain techniques and practices:

“Hey Cloud, what’s a parry?”

“Hey Cloud, why do you have armor on only one shoulder?”

To these questions, Cloud would respond in detail, finding that he enjoyed teaching them what he knew and that they learned quickly.

The days passed, and their training sessions continued. All the while, Aerith also helped out at the Leaf House, delivering flowers or teaching classes on how to organize bouquets. The children loved spending time with her as much as they did with Cloud.

Cloud and Aerith would spend their lunch breaks together, sharing stories of their mornings and telling each other what was going on in their classes. After their breaks, Aerith would always gently encourage him before they went back to their duties, “Come find me if you ever need to take a break, ‘kay?”

When they weren’t together, they would steal glances at each other from across the room or outside in the fields. Both were equally bashful when their eyes met and they’d quickly avert their eyes as if nothing had happened.

The kids watched in fascination as these two danced around their feelings for each other and knew there was something fishy going on between their two favorite teachers.

They wanted to know once and for all what was going on, and so they hatched a plan.

* * *

The afternoon sun beat down on Sector 5. Cloud stood outside the Leaf House, arms crossed in the sweltering heat as he overlooked the children swinging their wooden swords in unison.

They had been training hard, and he thought now would be a good time to take a break and rehydrate. Just as he dismissed them, they broke formation and scurried over to him. Cloud was ready to hear their daily training question of the day.

However, today’s question had nothing to do with sword techniques:

“Hey Cloud! Do you _like_ Aerith?”

The question hit him like an unexpected slap to the face.

“Wha-what do you mean?” Stammering over his words, was it that obvious to everyone?

“Do you _like_ like her?” Another one of the kids pressed on, eliciting a blush from their instructor. Some of them starting to snicker, wide smiles formed on their little faces.

“Kids! Leave Cloud alone.” Miss Fiona scolded as she came from inside the Leaf House, the kids had had also let her in on their plan and she shooed them away for their water break. “Cloud why don’t you grab yourself some water and rest for a bit? I saw Aerith around here finishing the flower mural on the other side of the building.”

He nodded in appreciation for her intervention, and quickly escaped into the Leaf House. He left a few moments later carrying two cups of water, eyes wandering around the courtyard searching for Aerith.

When he rounded the corner of the building his eyes found her stave leaned up against the wall. She seemed to have fallen asleep while sitting on the adjacent bench that was hidden in the shade.

Her hands folded neatly in her lap and her lips parted slightly as she gently breathed in slumber. A few strands of her hair fell in front of her face as her head tilted slightly to the side.

Cloud took a moment to catch his breath. She looked so tranquil and peaceful that he couldn’t help but stare in awe as he walked towards her.

He knew how important the Leaf House was to her. She would spend most of her days helping out the kids, and his heart strings tugged at how selfless she was. With all the time she spent taking care of others he constantly worried that she didn’t have enough time to take care of herself. No one else made him feel like this. Aerith did so much for these children, and he knew that they all cherished her.

If he was being completely honest with his feelings, so did _he_.

Without thinking, he leaned over and helped brush the fallen strands of hair from in front of her face and gently kissed her on the forehead.

Just as his lips made contact, a flurry of tiny footsteps rapidly approached from behind. He turned around at the sudden noise to find himself face to face with all the Leaf House children. They were grinning wildly and one of the kids pointed at him, “Guys, he kissed her! Cloud likes Aerith!”

They all looked at each other before emitting uncontrollable giggles, “Oooh Cloud likes Aerith! Cloud likes Aerith!”

Cloud tinged pink and immediately tried shushing the children in a whispered tone, “H-hey! Be quiet you guys, you might wake her up!”

But the children already scrambled away from him in glee, singing the chant at the top of their lungs.

Beet red by this point, Cloud ran after them in order to quiet the rambunctious children down, “Stop singing so loud!”

The neighboring residents of Sector 5 couldn’t help but chuckle as they witnessed the usually stone-faced mercenary chasing the kids around in circles. Cloud certainly had grown to become a valued member of their close-knit community and they appreciated all that he had done for them. Plus, it didn’t hurt that he was close with Aerith, whom they all adored.

What Cloud didn’t see was that Aerith’s face flushed equally red, and she raised her hands to her mouth to stifle a laugh. Both eyes slowly peaked open to witness Cloud playing with the kids.

She loved seeing this softer side of Cloud. It was a side that not a lot of people knew he was capable of expressing. This was what made him all the more _charming_. Underneath that tough and frosty exterior was a tender and caring soul. Of course, it was this side of him that she had fallen for as she knew there was more than met the eye.

* * *

The afternoon came to a close and Aerith and Cloud said their goodbyes to the kids and Miss Folia. They turned to walk down the path towards Aerith’s home. It felt nice to have a daily routine where Cloud would always walk Aerith home afterwards to make sure she got back safely, even if was just a few hundred meters away from the Leaf House.

As they crossed the bridge to her home, he stopped to appreciate the smell and the gorgeous fields of flowers that she maintained. “I don’t think I could ever get tired of this view. The foxtails and lilies look like they’ve been growing well over there.”

The area teemed with life and he felt so peaceful just standing there with her.

“Oh? Thought you used to not like the flowers?” She lightly teased before poking his arm.

His gaze softened at her contact and he looked away for a moment, “Guess...I’ve changed.”

He learned to care about the things she cared about and he liked it. His life was much more unpredictable now that she was in it, and he wanted to let her know how much better it really was.

She moved towards him in an attempt to continue her playful assault, but he moved at the same time. Their faces stopped inches apart from each other as they felt the heat emit from each other’s sun-kissed cheeks.

But maybe it wasn’t the sun that made them feel so warm.

They both stood there, enraptured in the others presence, before Aerith finally broke the silence as her voice squeaked, “Did you want some water before you head back?”

Cloud nodded quickly as she disappeared into the house to grab something to drink for the both of them, taking a few deep breaths to calm his pounding heart.

Aerith rummaged around the kitchen for a water glass as Elmyra was cleaning the dining room.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say the two of you are courting each other now?” Elmyra observed as she wiped down the kitchen table. She had watched the entire interaction between the two love birds from the living room window and couldn’t wait to comment on her daughters flushed cheeks. Elmyra couldn’t help herself. She was curious to see what had made her daughter so happy since she returned home, and it all suddenly made sense.

“Mom!” Aerith feigned annoyance.

“After everything you two have been through? You both deserve happiness.” She said wisely as she grabbed onto her daughter’s hand with both of her hands. Elmyra was hesitant when she first met Cloud, knowing what came with those mako eyes. But after hearing from Aerith what Cloud had to go through in order to bring her daughter home, she finally warmed up to him.

Aerith giggled and embraced Elmyra for a quick hug, “Thanks mom.”

She grabbed the glass before heading back outside to find Cloud and was surprised to see him kneeling among her flowers.

_Was he...talking to them?_

Her heart almost burst seeing him talk to the flowers like that.

“So yeah, that’s what kind of day it was.” She heard him say to the lilies as she walked up to him.

He finished his conversation and turned back to the house, only to find an emotionally moved Aerith on the brink of tears.

There he was, Cloud Strife, talking to her _flowers_.

When they first met, Cloud was skeptical about the lifestream and the vital role it played to the planet. He found it incredulous that anyone would ever care about such things. But when she chatted with her lilies in her garden the first time they visited her house, something changed within him. Even if he didn’t understand the significance back then, he was genuinely curious to know what she had to say about them. Now, after their many near death experiences with saving the world, he was more cognizant of the lifestream’s importance. He was a changed man.

“Did the flowers say anything?” She managed to croak through her misty eyes.

“Good work today guys.” He grinned, graciously accepting the glass of water that Aerith handed him. He quickly finished the glass and realized that it was getting late. “I should head back and let you get some rest. Same time tomorrow?”

She blinked a few times to clear her eyes and nodded, “Yeah, same time tomorrow. Can’t wait.”

He turned to walk down the path towards his apartment, but she grabbed his wrist before he could get too far, forcing him to turn around. His eyebrow arched in confusion.

Aerith grinned coyly at this point. “The flowers also said something else.”

Cloud blinked and cocked his head to the side, “Oh yeah? What’s that?”

She pulled him towards her, eyes fluttering closed as she gently cupped his face with her other hand and softly pressed her lips against his. The sudden contact and her tantalizing floral scent overwhelmed his senses, eyes widened and left him spellbound.

“Thank you Cloud.” She whispered tenderly as she pulled away from him, moving her hand to intertwine her fingers with his.

Air trapped in his lungs as if he had forgotten how to breathe.

Her emerald eyes locked onto his and danced brilliantly with these few simple words. They were full of such warmth and tenderness that he felt lost in an ocean of tranquility. He needed to take a few moments before he exhaled slowly.

She giggled at his reaction, and simply smiled back at him sweetly.

They had faced harrowing odds to get back to this exact spot. After all, Cloud did promise Elmyra from the start that he would bring Aerith back safe and sound after all was said and done.

He recollected everything that led him to this moment. From his younger years, where he was neglected by his peers and deemed unworthy of being anyone’s friend; To joining SOLDIER to prove to everyone that he was useful and needed.

But she managed to take that chip off of his shoulder. Aerith _wanted_ to spend more time with him and accepted him just as he was. Likewise, he appreciated every quirk and mannerism that made her _Aerith_.

For once, he was enough.

A smile filled his face as he gently squeezed her hand in return and they tenderly gazed upon each other underneath the twilight sky.

For once, he was home.


End file.
